Culture

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT CULTURE - PAGE 3

The tone of Andersen employee responses to Monday's dismissals ("Beers, tears, cheers flow for workers," Page 1, April 9) seemed to be passive acceptance and blaming the government. I was not totally surprised by how meekly the Andersen employees seem to accept their fate, as it appeared to be just another indication of the non-critical and don't-rock-the-boat culture that appeared in the 1990s, and which led to their demise. Having observed Andersen up close over the years, I believe the company and its 1990s culture of going along with anything the client seemed to want did them in. Blaming the government is like blaming the iceberg for the demise of the Titanic.

A planned Lady Gaga concert in Dubai in September will be censored to respect cultural traditions, the United Arab Emirates daily Gulf News reported Tuesday. Lady Gaga, who is known for her outrageous stunts and provocative costumes, canceled a concert in Indonesia in 2012 because of security concerns over objections by Islamic groups to her style. The Gulf News quoted Marco Rios, the chairman and CEO of AMI Live, one of the three firms involved in bringing Gaga to Dubai, as saying: "There will be some edits for Dubai.

CHICAGO--Reading the last paragraph of Joshua Klein's story "Noisemakers" (April 7), I cannot understand how reputable news organizations continue to assign hip-hop stories to writers who do not understand the culture. His last sentence ("hip-hop superstars should . . . make the content of their songs as strong as their conviction.") couldn't do more to spell out his ignorance. The very foundation of hip-hop has been built on the tragic, beautiful intensity of songs that resist all lyrical censure.

I take exception to your July 18 editorial "In Russia, the more things change. . . ." Your editorial writers unfortunately do not understand that the Russian people are struggling to recapture their historical culture, which is inextricably linked to Orthodox Christianity. This culture is more than 1,000 years old and was mercilessly suppressed by the Bolsheviks during their 75-plus-year reign over Russia. When that regime fell apart, well-financed hordes of Western "missionaries" descended upon the spiritually unsophisticated Russians to entice them away from their historical past and their national identity with offers of their 30 pieces of silver.

"Black and Blue" *** It's no coincidence that so many of the comedies created by the Factory Theater take place in a barroom setting. This motley group of writer-performers have a keen appreciation for tavern culture and alcohol-soaked camaraderie, and when they play it relatively straight - as they do here - the result is a familiar yet entirely welcome variation on a formula perfected by "Cheers," whereby two brothers (Anthony Tournis and Greg Caldwell, who legitimately look and sound like siblings)

Here's what's coming in Live! through the end of 2009 as we look back at the decade's most significant cultural moments. We also want to hear from you. Let us know what you think were the decade's most significant cultural developments and trends. We'll publish a sampling Dec. 30. To voice your thoughts, leave a comment at chicagotribune.com/decade. Monday Chicago's significant moments: Mark Caro Tuesday Looking back at what Tribune critics chose for the decade's most significant moments Wednesday What you picked: readers' choices for the decade's most significant cultural moments Thursday What does it all mean?

Theater companies such as the Silk Road Project are all about exploring issues from cultures half a world away, bringing voices from the Middle East and Asia to life on Chicago stages. Eh, this isn't really that. The AJYAL Theatrical Group, which is based in Dearborn, Mich., and tours around the country, is more out to entertain than enlighten. "Shoufou Alwawa Wayn (Where Does It Hurt?)" is a comedy about the lives of Arab-Americans, performed by and mostly for Arab-Americans. We follow the family of Im Hussein, which has settled nicely into an American way of life until the economy tanks.